Songs About Broken People
I haven't included songs about serial killers and the like. This list is more about people who see themselves as social outcasts, people struggling with mental illness, etc. |
| 1 |  | Aimee Mann
The Forgotten Arm
"King of the Jailhouse"
One of the saddest choruses ever: "Baby, there's something wrong with me/Baby, there's something wrong with me/Baby, there's something wrong with me/That I can't see" |
| 2 |  | Radiohead
Pablo Honey
"Creep"
I'm glad that Radiohead has begun to embrace this song again. Years ago, I used to work at a teen crisis hotline. And you wouldn't believe how many depressed kids called me to say they felt that this song expressed their own feelings about themselves exactly. |
| 3 |  | Paramore
Riot!
"We Are Broken"
I think she's singing mostly as a child of divorce here, who felt abandoned by one parent. It's a touching and beautiful song. |
| 4 |  | Pink Floyd
Wish You Were Here
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
About the glory, and the tragedy, of Syd Barrett |
| 5 |  | Harry Chapin
Verities and Balderdash
"Shooting Star"
An obscure song about a crazy holy man, and the woman who kept him somewhat tethered to reality. |
| 6 |  | The Who
Quadrophenia
"The Real Me"
"Schizophrenic? I'm Bleeding Quadrophenic." |
| 7 |  | Bayside
Shudder
"I Can't Go On"
A sad, but well-written portrait, of someone feeling suicidal. |
| 8 |  | The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs
"I Don't Believe in the Sun"
Jeez, where do you even start with Stephin Merritt. This beautiful (if somewhat maudlin) portrait of depression is as good a place as any. |
| 9 |  | Elton John
Madman Across the Water
"Madman Across the Water"
"But is it on your conscious that you're after/Another glimpse of the madman across the water?" |
| 10 |  | The Good Rats
Play Dum
"The Springer Singalong'
"You sleep with your wife/You sleep with your dog/You sleep with your sisters, your cousins and brothers-in-law/You're just a loser with no shame/Who needs his 15 minutes of fame/Your time is here, you got the call." |
| 11 |  | Preacher Boy
Demanding To Be Next
"Whistleman"
About the patron saint of life's losers. |
| 12 |  | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Damn The Torpedoes
"Even the Losers"
Because even the losers get lucky sometimes. "Nothing my friend will be the same again/If you let him sing". |
| 13 |  | Steely Dan
Aja
"Deacon Blues"
"They got a name for the winners of the world/I want a name if I lose/They call Alabama the Crimson Tide/Call me Deacon Blues" |
| 14 |  | Joni Mitchell
Song to a Seagull
"Cactus Tree"
Because women can be empty, too. |
| 15 |  | Jane's Addiction
Nothing's Shocking
"Jane Says"
See # 14 above |
| 16 |  | Nirvana
Nevermind
"Lithium"
Kurt Cobain - another big topic of the kids on the teen crisis line |
| 17 |  | The Smiths
The Queen Is Dead
"Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Morrissey has quite a few more depressing songs. This is a more comic take on being a loser. |
| 18 |  | The Police
Synchronicity
"The King of Pain"
Maybe just a tad self pitying. "It's my destiny to be the king of pain" |
| 19 |  | Black 47
Bankers and Gangsters
"Long Lost Tapes of Hendrix"
Another comical take on the loser theme. |
| 20 |  | The Beatles
Beatles for Sale
"I'm a Loser"
Figured I'd finish my list with the Grandaddies of rock. Title is pretty self-explanatory. |
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